Raise your hand if you love the holidays! Leave it up if you hate that post-holiday slump.
If your hand is still raised, you might consider trying to get yourself an exclusive invite to one of our seven illustrious DMC office holiday parties. Because we know everyone gets busy towards the end of December, and we all need a pick-me-up coming back to work in the new year, we choose to host our annual holiday parties in January or February. (You can put your hand down now.)
This year, we had a lot to celebrate across the nation. We opened our newest regional office in Dallas, celebrated Seattle's official grand opening, and expanded our teams in every office. We've congratulated one another on weddings, parenthoods, promotions, relocations, and so much more. It's only right that we reflect fondly on 2019, surrounded by our peers and supporters.
Here's how each office took its own unique spin on the traditional corporate holiday party:
DMC Chicago
As DMC's flagship location, Chicago did it big. Beatnik on the River, a Bohemian styled venue overlooking the Chicago River, served as the perfect backdrop for custom cocktails and delectable food.
To ring in the new year and reflect on the one passed, our own incomparable Marketing guru, Jamie Handelman, served as MC for the night. Her heartfelt speech reminisced over the events and accomplishments of 2019.
She mentioned our new office locations, the huge expansions to both Boston and Chicago's office spaces, as well as HQ's transition from workplace to play place with the addition of a slide connecting our old and new spaces. Jamie recollected about our time spent learning to improvise at our All Day Company Meeting and our ongoing efforts to get educated on the importance of DE&I. All of this fun whilst simultaneously bringing in 94 new clients from the web this year! Her final words commented on how lucky she feels to work at a company where all of her coworkers love and look forward to spending time together - a feat not so easily accomplished.
To close out the speeches, our President & CEO, Frank Riordan, recapped the last decade at DMC. In 2009, DMC had 19 employees in one 5,500 sq. ft. Chicago office. In 2019 we stand strong at 188 employees spanning eight offices spread throughout the continental U.S.
With the successes of our past and excitements for the future ringing in our ears, we mingled, nibbled, and sipped the night away, catching up with team members old and new.
And, of course, we couldn't possibly let pass the opportunity for an official group photo. Everybody say, "pie chart!"
DMC New York
Our coolest office (slight bias) took to wine country for our holiday party - sort of. Housed right on the Hudson, City Vineyard hosted our team in their weather-protected riverfront private room, We were treated to a three-course meal, unlimited wine and beer, and even a surprise birthday cake!
Despite our unobstructed view across the water, we were clearly the main attraction. Engrossed in conversation, we discussed such important topics as The Bachelor, purchasing a Home Depot toilet at 6 am, and the logistics behind planning a murder mystery party.
Before departing to our afterparty location, however, we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, scenic surroundings, and our high-class attire. Thus, an elaborate photo shoot was staged for all to get his or her best angles for the 'gram.
DMC Boston
The other half of our East Coast team enjoyed a stunning wintery dinner. Backdropped by gentle (read: aggressively heavy) snowfall, DMC Boston took to Alden & Harlow for a seemingly endless tasting menu of the most delicious entrees.
Everyone agreed that this was the kale salad to end kale salads and the burrata was a national treasure. By the time the two (two!) desserts arrived, we were all ready to call it a year but we powered through, you know, out of a sense of duty. It was, possibly, the tastiest food we had ever eaten.
The only thing better than the food itself was the company sharing it. As always, we had a blast reconnecting with friends after the holidays, catching up on all the updates about kids, relatives, and loved ones. A major highlight was getting to spend some unstructured time with our new hire, Carter, before he starts working with us this summer. It's always great to know we continue to uphold our primary core value when vetting new hires, and we look forward to getting to know him better in just a few short months.
DMC Texas (Houston & Dallas)
Our two Texan offices teamed up to form one Lone Star Holiday Party! DMC Houston and Dallas got all dolled up and hopped on a charter bus with their sights set on Lake Charles, LA. Upon arrival at The Golden Nugget, each of us received a $10 free slot card and we headed to the buffet for dinner together. If the endless supply of meat entrees and full dessert bar weren't enough, the massive spools of cotton candy were a huge highlight!
After fueling up, we all busted into the casino together like a squad helmed by T-Swift (slow motion, hair blowing, on a mission) to get some money. We played blackjack, craps, roulette, and slots, trying our hand at winning some cash. By the end of our gambling adventures, we came out cumulatively up $586.45 with our biggest slot winner up over $200 alone!
We were lucky enough to visit around Chinese New Year, so we enjoyed a beautiful celebratory performance before getting drinks at Blue Martini. Before capping out the night and heading home, we took our winnings and skills out to Spotlight Karaoke to sing our hearts out back in our home state. We sang everything from classics to fan favorites and laughed the whole night away.
DMC Denver
Out in Denver, we sought international flair while sticking close to home. With stunning views of Cherry Creek and the Cherry Creek Trail Bridge, we gathered at Coohills for some incomparable French cuisine. Chef Tom prepared a beautiful three-course meal for us complete with fantastic steak dishes, scalloped potatoes, and the tastiest brussels sprouts you've ever imagined. He topped off the evening with some shareable options for dessert.
What we didn't necessarily expect was to get dinner and a show! Some of us ordered fiery whiskey cocktails complete with burning wood and smokey glasses and it was all delightfully theatrical. Finally, although he was not prepared with one, we rounded out the performance segment of the evening with a lovely, heartfelt speech by our fearless leader, John Sullivan (affectionately referred to as Sully).
We drank in the evening river views full of warmth and gratitude for those around us. We ate, toasted, and celebrated together over our shared successes in the last year while looking forward to all that this year has in store for us.
DMC St. Louis
Next, St. Louis climbed sky-high to sip and nosh amongst the clouds. Though well past the traditional celebratory months, our February holiday party was no less fancy, festive, or fun. We scaled the 25-story Hilton (just kidding, we took the elevator) up to their stunning rooftop restaurant, Three Sixty, and settled in for a beautiful dinner with friends.
As the name suggests, our venue had a full 360-degree vantage point of the city. Peering out to the east, we had a clear view of The Gateway Arch, which only dwarfed us by a few feet from this height. Southward we could see directly into Busch Stadium, while the west housed stunning views of Forest Park, Union Station, and The Enterprise Center. Go Blues! The north? We don't talk about the north.
We enjoyed some tasty apps, a full dinner, and delicious drinks all backdropped by our picturesque city. With special guest Dan Freve in the house all the way from Seattle, we knew it was going to be a great night, so we shouldn't have been surprised to find a lively Mardi Gras celebration accompanying our meal! To top it all off, we were touched by the heartfelt speech our Project Director, Patrick Corcoran, delivered to thank us all for our ongoing commitment.
DMC Seattle
Finally, our westernmost office drew inspiration from "Chopped" and took to the kitchen in a restaurant-grade office cooking competition. DMC Seattle went out to Hot Stove Society to learn the art of dumpling making from the experts. Each of our teams folded, steamed, and sautéed to our hearts' content to produce the most exquisite dish of the bunch.
We'll let you be the judge of the winner. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by how easy it ended up being, and we're proud of the results.
After a little friendly competition, we tucked into our creations, accompanied by delicious chef-prepared appetizers and desserts. What meal would be complete without curated cocktails? We spent the rest of the evening together chatting and laughing about the year we've just completed and what 2020 might have in store.
Thank you to all of our clients, vendors, and partners who helped make 2019 a great year! We're looking forward to working with you in 2020 and the years ahead.
Find out more about DMC and our open positions to join our team.